Kim Jung Il died today
Freedom / Leadership / NorthKorea

Kim Jung Il died today

North Korean television reported Kim Jung Il died. As the BBC reports The announcer, wearing black, made the emotional announcement on state-run television North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has died at the age of 69, state-run television has announced. Mr Kim, who has led the communist nation since the death of his father in 1994, died on a train while visiting an area outside the capital, the announcement said. He suffered a stroke in 2008 and was absent from public view for months. His designated successor is believed to be his third son, Kim Jong-un, who is thought to be in his late 20s. North Korea's state-run news agency, KCNA, urged people to unite behind the younger Kim. "All party members, military men and the…

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December 18, 2011
Blog / Fitness / Nature

Why I don’t eat meat, part 2

Yesterday I mentioned I didn't eat meat for two categories of reasons: taste and intellectual reasons. Today I’ll cover my intellectual reasons. Intellectual You know what? None. Now that I think of it, no intellectual reasons motivate my eating habits. Everything I think of that seems not based in taste, when I peel away at it, turns out based in taste. I expect your reasons ultimately are based in taste too. You can tell your reasons aren't objective because other people disagree with you. I mean, maybe you're right and they're wrong, but they say the same about you, so I'll stick with my conclusion. See my next few posts on non-issues to see why I don't find your reason objectively true. Non-issues Here are…

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December 18, 2011
Blog / Fitness / Nature

Why I don’t eat meat, part 1

Why I don't eat meat differs from why I stopped eating meat, though the reasons overlap in matters of taste. As I mentioned, I lived over half my life since I stopped eating meat and, as you might expect, my reasons changed. The main reasons for the changes were realizing that I found no objective reason for eating meat or not. I've looked and they all turn out subjective. People have suggested lots of reasons for eating meat or not and none of them have been objective either. All reasons boil down to matters of taste and belief. If people disagree on their reasons, the reasons probably aren't based in objective truth. People claim their reasons are objective, but I don't find someone saying they…

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December 17, 2011
Blog / Nature

Why I stopped eating meat, part 3

Three days ago I mentioned I stopped eating meat for two categories of reasons: taste and intellectual reasons. Two days ago I covered taste. Today, intellectual reasons. First I'll mention that none of the following reasons motivate me anymore. Though I once did, I no longer find them compelling. I find their counter-arguments equally valid, or just as well, I find them equally invalid. I find talking about these reasons tends to promote arguments. As part of this series on food I'll write why I find the arguments uncompelling reasons not to eat meat (though I do find them compelling reasons to avoid factory-farmed and some other kinds of meat). From 1989 and until the past few years, my motivations for not eating meat included…

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December 16, 2011
Freedom / Humor / Nature

McLibel

By the way, having mentioned McLibel and the difference between "food" and food and between "meat" and meat, and as long as I'm on the topic of reasonable talk about eating, I can't help mention more about the case. Quoting from a web page devoted to the case, The McLibel Trial is the infamous British court case between McDonald's and a former postman & a gardener from London (Helen Steel and Dave Morris). It ran for two and a half years and became the longest ever English trial. The defendants were denied legal aid and their right to a jury, so the whole trial was heard by a single Judge, Mr Justice Bell. He delivered his verdictin June 1997. The verdict was devastating for McDonald's.…

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December 15, 2011
Blog / Nature

Why I stopped eating meat, part 2

Yesterday I mentioned I stopped eating meat for two categories of reasons: taste and intellectual reasons. Today I'll cover taste. By taste I mean not just flavor, but what one likes or not, as in musical taste. I never liked eating meat. At least I don't remember liking it, but it was a long time ago. I remember disliking eating meat. My mom would say "It's all meat!" about the fat around a steak that, no matter how much you chew, doesn't break down in your mouth. So I had to chew that stuff while it made me gag. I think my siblings all remember the phrase. So if I ever liked steak I didn't like it after that. The tendons on a drumstick eventually…

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December 14, 2011
Blog / Nature

Why I stopped eating meat, part 1

People often ask me why I stopped eating meat. I wrote a few days ago about how often people ask in order to argue and how I find the question boring after having been asked roughly daily or so for decades. Still, I've learned to appreciate and even celebrate things I can't change so it doesn't get me down. I used to argue with people about food too so I empathize with them, though I learned to stop arguing, so I feel justified in expecting more of them. Anyway, before writing why I stopped eating meat, I'll point out most of my reasons for not eating meat now, which I'll write about later, are different than my reasons for stopping eating meat in 1989. I've…

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December 13, 2011
Blog / Fitness / Nature

More reasonable talk on eating, part 3

Yesterday covered more the physical side of the change in the trucker's life with food. Today let's look more at the emotional side. The movie showed that, however ingrained the punishment of "food" and its related confusion-based helplessness, just a few days of new experience can overcome it. The trucker's physical health didn't change overnight, but his emotional health did. And a major point of this blog is the fundamental importance of emotions in changing your life. Once he found that food -- something so simple as food -- could create power (ability to influence his life), joy, reward, and so on, he found he could create something to live for, which I believe was a better life for himself, spending time with his family…

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December 12, 2011
Blog / Nature

More reasonable talk on eating, part 2

Yesterday I wrote about healthy food, unhealthy "food," and how we've created industries that confuse the two, leading to people eating things they don't like and avoiding things they do. The day before I wrote about the movie Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead (view for free here, view trailers here). Since food can be such a rewarding part of life when you find ways to actively enjoy it, many books, movies, restaurants, and so on inspire people by removing the deception and confusion "food" vendors create to sell their products. Once you realize how much joy and reward food can create, you love it. Many have inspired me. A character in Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead inspired me most recently. The movie's main thread is…

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December 11, 2011
Freedom / NorthKorea

Rules: what we could and couldn’t do in North Korea

People often ask what the government let us do or not. Koryo prepares you for what to expect so we knew all these things before leaving Beijing. Here is a small selection of the rules. No pictures without permission North Koreans seem to resent having their pictures taken when they aren't performing. I once forgot this rule and took a picture of some people on the street. They got annoyed. One of our guides noticed and chastised me. We weren't supposed to take pictures of military anytime, but we ended up taking a bunch. The Demilitarized Zone had several picture-taking opportunities designed for tourists. Come to think of it, I don't remember having trouble taking pictures of military people. You can only visit sites they…

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December 11, 2011
NorthKorea

Our North Korea itinerary

Today I'll finally cover where we went on each day. Most people who have visited North Korea will recognize at least some of the places since the list of places the government lets you see is so short. For people who have never been there, I'll cover some later and hope to get to more. Day 0 Orientation in Beijing Search for duck restaurant, exploring Beijing on foot D Lounge at night Day 1 Meet at Koryo, Beijing Flight to Pyongyang I missed bus buying fruit Plane didn't have as many seats as they gave us tickets for Bought lots of duty-free alcohol, tobacco, and chocolate Check in to hotel, same hotel everyone checks into. Forgot to look for bugs. Only night the air conditioner…

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December 10, 2011
Blog / Nature

More reasonable talk on eating

I alluded to a point yesterday that people don't eat what they want and eat what they don't want. They diet, avoid things for reasons other people give them, eat unhealthy foods, and so on. Is this mind-blowing or what? How can someone eat things they don't like and avoid things they do? Food is as basic as things get. What better feelings does life offer than for eating food we like? Could you imagine our ancestors evolving liking eating anything but healthy food? Or disliking eating anything but harmful things? Wanting to eat healthy food and avoid unhealthy alternatives must be fundamental to our wiring. The opposite -- eating unhealthy stuff and not getting healthy food -- must confuse our systems. Answering these questions…

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December 10, 2011
North Korea strategy: a toy proposal to promote thought
Freedom / Leadership / NorthKorea

North Korea strategy: a toy proposal to promote thought

North Korea's uniquely extreme isolation and disparity of power and wealth means you have to think of it differently than most other countries. Today I'll present a toy idea not for serious consideration as is, but to provoke thought and promote new, potentially effective ideas or improve other plans. I call it a toy idea so no one accidentally takes it seriously on its own, but plays with it to help generate other ideas. Here are the main ideas leading to it North Korean power is concentrated to probably a few dozen people. However much others may dislike their decisions, from their perspective, decision-makers choose rationally. The toy idea My toy idea, again not for serious consideration as is, but for promoting thought and other…

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December 9, 2011
Blog / Nature

Some reasonable talk on eating

A movie I saw recently called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead (view for free here, view trailers here) struck a chord and got me thinking more about food recently, and buying and eating more fresh, organic fruits and vegetables than ever. So I'll post a few posts on food and diet. The last time I intentionally ate meat was the spring of 1989. Occasionally someone brings me a turkey burger when I order a veggie burger and I accidentally eat some or a bug flies down my throat when I'm running, but I don't count things that happen without intent. People who eat meat can get weird about people not eating meat sometimes. I'm sure from their perspective they seem normal and people who don't…

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December 9, 2011
Blog

Computer problems

Usually I prefer using GNU/Linux. Every now and then something in that community annoys me. In the spring the people behind the Ubuntu distribution decided to make a new interface the default without telling me. When I "upgraded" it messed things up, but, with some work, I got it back to how I liked it. This time when I upgraded, they removed my usual interface. After major work, I realized the effort to restore how I like to work wasn't worth it and I switched to a different distribution, called Mint, specifically the Debian edition. Maybe I should have gone with pure Debian, but reports made Mint sound like it could handle video better. Why am I writing about what few people care about? To…

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December 8, 2011
Pictures of North Korea, part 9: the Grand People’s Study House
Art / Freedom / Leadership / NorthKorea

Pictures of North Korea, part 9: the Grand People’s Study House

Today's pictures were from the Grand People's Study House, a giant library overlooking the Taedong River, with the Juche Tower on the other side. Sorry for how long some captions are. I formatted them to be more readable but Wordpress seems to ignore the formatting. I hope you can read them okay anyway. Nearly all big public buildings we visited had big statues of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jung Il, or both. The statues nearly always represent them as paternal, optimistic, smiling, or displaying some emotion conducive to leadership. Some looked magnificent. After a few you got bored with them but wondered what the deal was with so many of them. Who decided to put so many up? How many would they consider too many?…

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December 8, 2011
Awareness / Freedom / NorthKorea

Reasons to visit North Korea

Most people can think of reasons not to visit North Korea. Most people consider the place dangerous. They have imprisoned foreigners for life for things that we wouldn't consider illegal here, and you have no right to due process. For starters. What do you get from visiting? If you travel to explore new places, North Korea is one of the few frontiers left that tourists haven't overrun. Tourists are even overrunning Mount Everest. It has a lot to offer that other frontier places don't. By the way, if you want relaxing white sandy beaches, snow-capped mountains, spas, and that sort of vacation, I don't think you'll like North Korea. Everest is a physical challenge. You'll get something out of climbing it, but if your goal…

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December 7, 2011
Blog / Humor / Tips

Comedian Chris Rock can solve all your relationship problems

Here is the solution to any relationship problems you have. Whatever problems you and any significant others have, just watch Chris Rock videos online until you find him joking about exactly your issue, realize what you thought was the most important problem in the world you'd never get over is a trivial thing everyone goes through, laugh about it and how unjustifiably self-important you felt, and get over it. Then go back to enjoying life. And stay humble. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M902ZJHzaLE[/youtube] Sometimes you have to watch a couple other comedians to get to it, but the principle works.

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December 7, 2011
“Elements” — Special viewing of my art December 10, 8-10pm
Art / Creativity

“Elements” — Special viewing of my art December 10, 8-10pm

Please join us for a special viewing of Elements Artwork by Joshua Spodek at District 36 If you missed my show at Crossing Art Gallery in June, this will be your first chance to see my new series. If you've only seen my public pieces Union Square and Bryant Park, this series is on a whole other level. Plus we can have wine here. If you haven't seen it since Crobar, you've never seen anything like these pieces. RSVP to me or District 36 (at 212-244-3636). District 36 is at 29 West 36th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Stay to hear Sharam, of the Grammy-award winning duo, Deep Dish, play after. See you Saturday, December 10 at 8!

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December 6, 2011
Awareness / Blog / Exercises / Freedom / Leadership

The Method: three exercises to transform your life, part 3

The third exercise comes in two parts also. First you think of emotions you'd prefer to the ones listed in the previous exercise. Second you think of environments, beliefs, and behaviors to create those emotions. You think of the emotions first because they are the roots of your values and what creates meaning and purpose. By listing what you can't or won't do in the previous exercise, you assure yourself you won't do anything you consider wrong or don't want to. By starting with your emotions, you know you'll be doing things consistent with your values, meaning, and purpose. The exercise part 1 -- conceive of new emotions Write new emotions that you would prefer to get from this part of life you want to…

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December 6, 2011
North Korea strategy: what you can do
Freedom / Leadership / NorthKorea

North Korea strategy: what you can do

To close out this fifteen-part series on strategy, what can one person as an individual do? First, I recommend considering you may be offering people unsolicited advice based on judgments they don't agree with if you, say, waltz into the country and tell people there you are going to help them make their lives better. Now matter how sure you are that you will help them, if they didn't invite you to help, the people you want to help will likely view you otherwise -- perhaps condescending, patronizing, or meddling. They may well have justification. Actions I would recommend. Learn about North Korea. I hope this page helps. Books, articles, and videos can help. My too-brief bibliography may start you off with some valuable but…

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December 6, 2011
Awareness / Blog / Exercises / Freedom / Leadership

The Method: three exercises to transform your life, part 2

Yesterday's exercise was to list a couple areas in your life you want to improve. Today's exercise is to view the areas from the perspective of the Model. Exercise 2 Part 1 Write on a piece of paper in four different lines, the words "Old environment:," "Old beliefs:," "Old emotions:," and "Old behaviors:," like so: Old environments: Old beliefs: Old emotions: Old behaviors: Then for each area on your life you want to improve, fill out each of the four elements of the relevant emotional cycles. The idea is to break up something complex into simpler parts that are easier to understand and show the structure of how those parts interrelate. Running a marathon Old environment: Playing other sports, bars, in front of tv Old…

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December 5, 2011
North Korea strategy: reducing domestic support
Freedom / Leadership / NorthKorea

North Korea strategy: reducing domestic support

If sunshine is the best disinfectant, then giving the North Korean people the same access that the rest of the world has to information about their country, its history, and the world would probably be the best strategy for change. Their compliance with their government effectively supports it more than anything else. That compliance makes sense, despite it appearing from our perspective against their long-term interests. Not complying can cost dearly. From what I hear The country's network of informants surpasses that of the East German Stasi. The government punishes your family members for your actions. Punishments can be unilateral and draconian, including lifelong imprisonment, torture, and death. No system of free speech or communication network exists to organize protest. North Korea's military is the…

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December 5, 2011
Art / Freedom / Leadership / NorthKorea

My North Korea talk slides

Here are the slides for my North Korea talk at Fred. I expect to show a lot of images, mainly from Joseph's amazing pictures on Flickr. I like my pictures, but his are phenomenal. Here is a pdf of the slides. Sorry the transitions don't make it in, but the slides are pretty light. I'll put up the video when they post it.

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December 4, 2011
Awareness / Blog / Exercises / Freedom / Leadership

The Method: three exercises to transform your life, part 1

You want to improve your life. I'm about to present three great exercises that help -- you could say one exercise in three parts. My seminars cover them over the course of the first day, with a fourth follow-up if time permits (which I link to at the end of the third exercise here). People report finding them deceptively simple for how much they help. They create a structure that makes it easy to understand otherwise complex and emotionally laden parts of your life. They also build cumulatively. They also start great conversations and form bonds between the people who do the third part together. They take little effort, though sometimes people will spend a long time on them because they can get you thinking…

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December 4, 2011

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